My journey into Bollywood through cultural studies

Analyse a specific dance culture or dance practice through the frameworks of specific and recognised cultural theories.

Individuals can learn about other cultures through song and dance. Robin Suhkadia supports the idea that India’s customs are learnt through the viewing of Hindi cinema and Bollywood routines (Suhkadia, R. 2016: Lucknow through the lens of Bollywood). Since the 1920’s, Bollywood has aided India in its climb to its current economic and political stance through selling and promoting Indian beliefs in Hindi films. The dance form found within the Hindi cinema has achieved this through: representation, appropriation, borrowing and hybridity, which will become the cultural lenses I shall analyse Bollywood through, though its success is not limited to these four. I will be delving into definitions of “Bollywood” and showing how the dance represents India. I shall be discovering the many branches that have stemmed from “Bollywood”, the effects it has had on the country as well as how the hybrid dance is broadcasted.

If "a Bollywood dance is a re-enactment of the filmed dance" (Kishore, V; Sarwal, A; Patra, P. 2016: 5) as Ghosh suggests, the Hindi films become an exclusive genre of dance. Bollywood, therefore, can only be defined as the movement shown in the films choreographed by professionals to portray a specific meaning. With only a handful of Mudras from Indian resources to use within this technique, the dances become limited to expressing certain emotions that allow the dance to be read effectively to fit the genre. The restriction has created an appropriate blends of movement for a commercial purpose. With the introduction of Westernism to create the commodity, Ghosh argues that the classes taught, or performances viewed, in India or the world are not authentic and are a subcategory creating two branches of the term “Bollywood”. For the purpose of the essay I shall call Ghosh’s Bollywood “Hindi cinema”, and the material produced separate to the films “Bollywood”.

These Hindi films have allowed a selective view of India to spread across the globe; becoming known for the music, dance and costume of Bollywood culture. This portrayal of India is one of celebrations and wealthier individuals, caring to avoid showing the Indian slums. Rich colourful costumes and bold energetic movement are used and taken from Indian dance forms to mould this commodified ideal. This ethnic authenticity, becomes clouded by only showing one view of India which gets created for a global market. (Punathambekar, A. 2005: 46) India shows the romanticised version of itself to tailor make the dance material. Mehta and Pandharipande state that “the construction of the romanticised Indianness comes from a distancing from Punjabi "crassness (no intelligence)" (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 47). Appropriated to include as much culture, and morph its meaning to fit what it intends to say of India. The blending of many Indian dance forms has met its critism with Mehta and Pandharipande showing the inclusivity of Punjabi culture but disregarding some cultural meanings behind the movement. Even though varying forms of Indian dances can be seen blended into “Bollywood”, their meanings and application have been appropriated to show the India that the market craves to see. One India that is wealthy and enjoying life. As a result, the dance form has become hybrid by being defined separately to diasporic Indian dance. It can currently be defined as “a Diaspora that is now called a genre across the world”. (Kishore, V. Sarwal, A. Patra, P. 2016: 97), due to its popularity allowing Bollywood to become separate to Hindi Cinema. Since its beginning, the dances have fused together which creates “a great haze which surrounds its original character” (Vatsyayan, K. 1967: 239).

Bollywood’s roots derive from a blend of classical and traditional Indian dance with Western nuances to create the movement that was originally shown in Hindi Cinema. The blending of Indian cultures has allowed a national representation to surface of India by simplifying the grand country to a selection of movement from a wide area to package and sell to the world. This has allowed essences of the North (Kathak, Bhangra), South (Bharatanatyam) and West (Kathak) of India to be shown at the same time in a short phrase in a Hindi Film. Gehlawat introduces a definition of Bollywood as “a hybrid of first and third world cinema elements, the east and the west” showing the new India emerging blended with everything it already knows. (Kishore, V; Sarwal, A; Patra, P. 2016: 13). Bollywood is described within a cinema context, revealing the blend of the Western “first world cinema” with the older “Indian third world”. This hybrid form is described as essential in the creation of the dance by enabling the platform of viewing (cinema) to exist and become competitive. Westernism has therefore surged Bollywood forward, which I shall later look into its appropriation and re-appropriation in this essay.

A positive aspect of appropriation shows that the accumulation of Indian dance forms becomes “the art that will be enriched by the teaching of all scriptures”. (Vatsyayan, K 1967: 239). By forming a representation, a richer and more authentic feel can be passed onto the next generations, and allows all of India to be educated and aware of more of the countries culture. By combining Northern and Southern history, those who cannot travel can see other sides of India and celebrate its beauty and skill. This can be seen and understood by those who know their local dance techniques within Hindi Cinema and allows viewers a chance to copy and learn from the source that they may have never had access to otherwise. Regardless if they are from the North or South of Indian “the dancer speaks an identical language of basic technique” ensuring that blending the dance forms still create a performance full of clarity and understanding. (Vatsyayan, K. 1967: 232)

Outside of India, dance has allowed Indian Extirpates to see part of the India they remember or where their family are from. Bollywood shows the diversity of the country. Punathambekar links Hindi films to staying linked to India when emigrating that “creates an idea and symbolic representation of India to ease the process in living away from home” (Punathambekar, A. 2005: 151). By borrowing parts of Indian culture, Hindi cinema can cater to a larger audience and therefore have a greater target market. He goes on to argue that creating a representation allows those who possess Indian heritage to emotionally “invest in the idea of being Indian” (Punathambekar, A. 2005: 152). Though this may seem to be unnecessary for those in India and who associate their identity with the culture, a positive global image will allow this identity to travel wherever an individual may go as a way of showing and explaining where they are from. Another theorist, Rajadhyaksha says how Hindi Cinema “prominently caters to, a diasporic audience of Indians’, which can be usefully termed ‘Bollywood’” (Punathambekar, A. 2005: 150). Having Hindi films becomes part of a mediated culture which Manfred explains how it “tends to a mutual understanding of members of society” (Morales, S. S. 2013: 4). Bollywood is therefore defined as a dance to unite Indians outside of India, celebrating and showing a range of India’s heritage and background.

Bollywood’s background originated by the fusion of India’s regions, of its past. The cultural borrowing took traits from India’s history as a way of preservation and teaching. A form of poetic phrasing used in performance from Lucknow created the connection between the dance and music meanings in Bollywood. Robin Suhkadia stated how the rhythms and timing of the drums formed phrases that could be understood like words, which got translated into dance phrases. (Suhkadia, R. 2016: Los Angeles County Museum of art) Each element of the performance becomes readable and related. Lucknow’s dance culture supports the positive aspect of hybridity in Bollywood performance. With Bollywood being known as a fusion of “authentic Indian movement” and Westernised influence, then Lucknow’s input further shows how India was created from using other forms. Lucknow influenced the beginning of Kathak (www. Lucknow.org.uk/lucknow-music-and-dance) which is now seen as a national dance of India. Without this sharing of information, Kathak may never have existed. This art form, from Lucknow, still co-exists without the blending of Bollywood, meaning it can create an identity to sell to the world and teach India, as well as enabling enough knowledge of it through Hindi Cinema to stay alive as its authentic form. Before Hindi Cinema, only the noble grace understood the unique language which now is open to the world. Now Lucknow as an area and dance community can be shared through the world from the globalisation of Bollywood and the hybridity forming of this dance.

This “Bollywood” form can even be said to have its own technique behind it from its classical Indian dance predecessors. Ghosh states Bollywood derives from “Aramaditi (half sitting posture), Mudra, Bharatanatyam pirouettes, Tatkaar footwork of Kathak”. (Kishore, V; Sarwal, A; Patra, P. 2016: 104) In addition to Indian attributes, Bollywood has always had a Western influence of commercial styles such as: jazz, commercial, hip hop and street. (www.thebollywoodco.com/Bollywood-dance-classes-London). The “memories” of pre-existing dances tributes Bollywood as a hybrid form by being defined and therefore learning about the other regional cultures. This influence originally allowed the form to sell around the world, become slightly more familiar for viewers who would have no previous experience in watching Indian dance. By carefully creating the hybridity, Bollywood and Hindi Cinema has allowed enough of India to be shown (both authentically and stereotypically). Authentic movement derives from the classic forms of Indian dance, and the stereotypical movement being the few moves Western audiences remember that become its view of Indian dance such as; “the lightbulb”, or a move with hands in a prayer sign above one’s head. This representation as mentioned earlier, allows India to be associated and known quickly throughout the world and have its dance recognisable. Regardless of its hybridism, aspects of India, and the garments worn are semantically applied to the viewer, creating more acceptance for the culture and clothing with each association. Westernism allowed Bollywood to become a bigger industry than Hollywood but the fusion creates semantic problems when interpreting the dance.

Vatsyayan shows how “Western dance is concerned with being free from gravity and finding time and space- (Vatsyayan, K: 1967. 233)”, whereas Indian dance is about being grounded to Mother Earth. These two contrasting opposites creates contradicting information in dance form, coming from two ideologies of movement. This change in beliefs has caused “Bollywood Bhangra [to] shift[ed] the point of songs for love of divine and country to now only about idealised love” (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 40/41). This further backs up the issues with appropriation, where an original culture has been changed to create a brand new one. Bhangra has been adapted for Bollywood, which at first was met with resistance but is slowly being accepted as “Bollywood social” culture and not Bhangra. (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 46)

With Bollywood becoming a global platform, it is re-taught within India with the adaptations it gathers from its travels. Some countries or companies would blend Bollywood with more of a certain Western style, such as street, which would then get re-taught in India. This globalisation allows residents in India to learn from Indian dance from the borrowed forms and Western movement from the hybrid states it returns to India with. This re-appropriation has been put down to being used “for a Bollywood audience to read to address the issues of modernity and globalisation of India. (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 37) The way this form is altered can vary on the background and location of the viewer, meaning someone in Asia will use different styles and movement quality un-intentionally to someone in Europe. Therefore, Bollywood can be both with and without strong Western influence.

The access to the re-appropriated forms are now easy to view through digital forms. As this new culture with people known as “digital natives” began from the 1980’s we are currently living in the first generation making it difficult to see the changes in Bollywood and dance. The drastic change of sharing information online is “changing the way information is processed” through global networking. (Thomas, M. 2011: 9) To produce material to be viewed online an entertainment factor has to be added to get a wider audience. As a result, the teaching and understanding of Indian culture and meanings within Hindi Cinema and Bollywood “have become fuzzy” (Gehlawat, A. 2010: 18). Morales shows that an idealistic view of information is “not [just] used to entertain, but it had been employed ... [with] moral rules” (Morales, S. 2013: 34). The new generations having access to Bollywood can often have too much resulting in “information overload”. This can be seen in Jaya Vashwani’s Bollywood for beginners DVD as she showed and explained a wide variety of movement but to fit it into the time frame removed a lot of explanation. The mass information can lead viewers to further blend the moves into one from remembering parts of steps. The layout over the internet, takes away from bite-size classes that get built on and corrected, to now finding as much as possible and sometimes too much in one sitting.

Bollywood can also be argued to resist Western influence, and have created its industry by itself having the marketing mistaken for “Westernism”, or to be a hybrid form of two cultures. Chatterjee looks at the difference between the inner India (ghar) and the outer world (bahir). “Chatterjee argues that the ‘home/inner’ came to signify a domain that successfully resisted ‘western’ influences, maintained the ‘inner core of national culture”. By having Hindi Cinema based around Indian dance forms, it has then only sold itself for a market but has been created from and with authentic Indian culture. This has come from exaggerating sexualised movement found within Indian forms. In contrast, he also acknowledges how Hindi Cinema dance has been sexualised to become global, coming after the Indian borrowings. This has been achieved through varying teaching techniques and performances to meet specific goals in marketing. These appropriations of a form have become ways of viewing; DVD’s, classes, fitness and films; each having different views on their responsibility to the original culture and purpose.

The western aspects that Ghosh notes used are “hip flicks, shakes, rolls on the floor and body ripples (Kishore, V; Sarwal, A; Patra, P. 2016: 108). With the traditional dances, appearing from a religious context only certain aspects could be added out of respect. The borrowed bhangra, added sexualised moves to the sharp Bollywood choreography which went against its original religious undertones (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 38). Bhangra therefore shifted itself from religious to have an appropriated “sensual” version to be used in Hindi Cinema. This sacreditity was mentioned in Jaya Vashwani’s Bollywood DVD’s where she assures only certain Mudras from the form are used as a “safety net”, where gestures used are not directly linked to the Gods. By being out of the religious context and being made into a hybrid form, the routines can be performed as upbeat or romantic meaning they can be appropriated for the market and point of the plot. (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 39). The inclusion of Bhangra was to show the styles energy and joy into the cinema dances, to further show the one-way representation of wealthy, happy India. This further backs up Chatterjee as the sexualisation was introduced after the classical Indian dance form was introduced. (Mehta, R. B; Pandharipande, R. P. 2011: 42.)

To test the traditional\hybrid balance, I decided to see how Bollywood was seen from two people working in the industry in the UK. Razia Shaheen, is a teacher and performer in Bollywood as well as specialising in commercial styles. With Pakistani Heritage, she has trained for years with her own personal grasp on Bollywood. Her cliental have started the classes as an access to another culture. Danni Cash is a recent graduate who has joined Desinach (a Bollywood company) to perform at Mendhi (hen) parties and events. She has previous exposure to the dance form through choreographers coming to her college for a piece in the Asian Spring Festival.

When interviewing Razia, she noticed how Bollywood hybridity varied from the countries she was in. After teaching in Germany, she noticed how each country wanted a different “Bollywood”. With Germany having “a more traditional and authentic style and the UK becoming more street/commercial”. Danni Cash noted her commercial teachings to be helpful and similar to the material produced for British Asian Weddings, stating “commercial is a similar style due to the energy levels and dynamics”. Both applicants show their lean towards a commercial understanding in the UK, whether this forms their only base for learning Bollywood. Razia says due to her Pakistani culture, Bollywood was introduced as part of her “Asian Culture” and exposure becoming part of a national representation, whereas Danni learnt through being taught performances to current Hindi music. Razia as a result has more experience in the “original” form of Hindi Cinema and Danni Cash learning the globalised “Bollywood”. However, the cultural upbringing is still part of “Desinach” with the director being of Pakistani upbringing and being exposed similarly to Razia.

Bollywood as a dance form, has allowed India to create an identity to be shipped around the world in addition to boosting its economic gain and therefore status as a country. The films enabled India to play and “see whether film could the new maturing mood of India” (Banker, A. 2011: 34). Since leaving British rule, India has enabled itself to quickly rebuild and show the history of the regions and its reigns. Bollywood has shown the fun side of India to engage viewers with the culture of India to sell and create a positive respect. The entertainment factor has allowed Bollywood to emerge as a popular style of dance, being known and performed on TV shows, films and classes around the country.

The dance was aided and created for Hindi Cinema which has shown the culture of India and allowed it to be explained. Bollywood and Hindi Cinema have adapted beliefs linked with India for marketing purposes which can be argued both positively and negatively on the country. This hybrid dance has, however, become a cultural unifier bringing India together and creating a positive relationship with the rest of the world.

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